WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | The story behind this year's Light Up Louisville tree

The story behind this year's Light Up Louisville tree

By Elizabeth Donatelli - bio | email
Posted by Charles Gazaway - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - The annual Light Up Louisville brings Christmas cheer to downtown, but do you know where the trees come from? WAVE 3's Elizabeth Donatelli was there as it was cut down and shares the heartwarming story of the Fir tree.

The tree has lived through generations of the Underwood family.  It was planted in the late 1940's.

"My mother's sister and her husband were stationed over in Germany," said Cathy Young. "She brought it back as a seedling and gave it to my mom."

The tree came over not long after her father fought there in World War II.

"They just take me captured and that was about it. Sometimes they would move us from place to place as the Allies began to get closer to us. They would move us further back to Germany," said Marvin Underwood, who is donating the tree.

Underwood was taken prisoner by the Nazi's for months. It's something that Young says Underwood doesn't like to talk much about. Young says the tree is special to her family because it is from Germany just after the close of the war. 

"We wanted everybody to share what we have been sharing," said Young.

The fir tree is 60 years old, weight 9,800 pounds and stands nearly 50 feet tall. It took more than a dozen people several hours to cut it down in Okolona and transport into downtown Louisville.

Underwood made the donation in honor of his late wife Doris. He says, "It is nice. I'm glad somebody could get a little bit of use out of it."

"She would be so proud and I'm just so thrilled. I'm thrilled for my father to let everybody enjoy and see this beautiful tree what we've seen," Young said.

Light up Louisville will be the Friday after Thanksgiving in downtown Louisville. About 70,000 people attended in 2007.